Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey
Bermondsey was one of twenty eight metropolitan boroughs of the County of London from 1900-1965. Its area now forms part of the London Borough of Southwark. Creation and name The borough was created by the London Government Act 1899 which came into effect in the following year. The act replaced the various incorporated Vestries and District Boards of Works that had governed the area at a local level since their creation by the Metropolis Management Act 1855 with Metropolitan Boroughs each governed by a Borough Council. The first schedule of the 1899 legislation gave the areas of the new boroughs by reference to the old authorities, but did not give any names. These were to be decided by Boundary Commissioners who would take into account representations by local bodies and also make minor adjustments to boundaries to provide more efficient areas of administration. One of the boroughs was defined as: "The area consisting of the parishes of Rotherhithe, Bermondsey, Horsleydown, and St. Olave and St. Thomas, Southwark." The borough replaced the parish vestries of Bermondsey and Rotherhithe, and the St Olave District Board of Works (consisting of the two parishes of St John Horsleydown and Southwark St Olave and St Thomas). At a meeting of the commissioners appointed under the 1899 act on 24 November 1899 at the Town Hall of the Bermondsey Vestry, the name for the new borough was discussed. Bermondsey Vestry strongly urged that the name "Bermondsey" be adopted, as the parish was the "predominating element in population, rateable value and acreage". They also pointed out the Bermondsey Abbey, although no longer extant, exceeded Westminster Abbey in antiquity. There was some discussion on whether "Southwark" could be included in the name: this was supported the City of London, but it became the neighbouring borough which in due course became the Metropolitan Borough of Southwark had a better claim. The representatives of St Olave's District Board suggested either "St Olave's" or "East Southwark" and were supported by Rotherhithe Vestry. The representative from the statistical department of the London County Council, who had looked into the historical associations of the parishes, strongly supported the name "St Olave's". The name "Bermondsey" was chosen by the commissioners and the new borough was formally established by the Borough of Bermondsey Order in Council, 1900. Area and population The area of the borough in 1901 was 1499.6 statute acres. This subsequently increased to 1503 acres due to recliaming of land on the bank of the River Thames. The population at each census was recorded as follows: Borough Council Each Metropolitan Borough Council was governed by a Borough Council. This consisted mostly of directly-elected councillors representing the various wards into which the borough was divided, and partly of aldermen elected by the council itself. The ratio of aldermen was one to every six councillors. The term of office for councillors was three years and for aldermen six years. Elections of all councillors were held every three years while half of the aldermen retired following the triennial elections. Bermondsey Borough Council consisted of 54 councillors and 9 aldermen from 1900-1953 and 45 councillors and 7 aldermen from 1953-65. Armorial bearings Mayor of Bermondsey One member of the council was elected mayor each year, although they could be re-elected. They chaired the council meetings and acted as ceremonial head of the borough. For more information on the individuals who held the office see list of Mayors of Bermondsey Mayoral regalia The mayoral chain and badge were presented to the borough by the first mayor, Samuel Bourne Bevington, in 1900.{cite book|title=London 1900-1964. Armorial Bearings and Regalia of The London County Council, The Corporation of London and The Metropolitan Boroughs|year=1964|author=T J Beningfield|publisher=Ed. j Burrow & Co|pages=45-47}} The mayoress's chain and badge were presented by the president and directors of the South Metropolitan Gas Light and Coke Company in 1931. This was in connection with the official opening of three blocks of flats built by the company in Moodkee Street, Rotherhithe. The mace was presented in 1954 by W S Shuttleworth & Co. Shuttleworth's were chocolate manufacturers based in Bermondsey from 1881-1973. Wards In 1900 the borough was divided into wards, each electing a number of councillors divisible by three. The original order in council creating the borough also divided it into 12 wards: The original wards remained unchanged until 1953, when a new set of boundaries were introduced. The number of councillors was reduced to 45 and the requirement that the number of councillors for each ward be divisible by three was removed. These remained in use until the borough's abolition. Borough elections Elections to the council were to be held every three years. In practice this did not always happen: elections were suspended for the duration of the First and Second World Wars while the elections due in November 1948 were moved to May 1949 and those due in 1952 were rescheduled to 1953 to avoid clashing with the London County Council elections. Elections then returned to a three-year cycle with the last elections prior to abolition held in 1962. Town hall The town hall was on Spa Road, SE16, and was bombed during World War 2. After the war a neighbouring building was used and this is now used as offices for Southwark Council. Notable Councillors Based upon the Wikipedia category https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Members_of_Bermondsey_Metropolitan_Borough_Council *Reg Goodwin *Ada Salter *Alfred Salter *Jessie Stephen More information on the Wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Borough_of_Bermondsey. External links Some films can be seen here References Category:Metropolitan Boroughs